i7-860 good enough for a GTX 670/680?

[Jumpem]

I would be upgrading from a 5870. Would a stock i7-860 bottleneck a GTX 670 or 680?

Does anyone have benchmarks for the new Nvidia cards on different CPUs?

 

[blastingcap]

Your CPU won't bottleneck a GTX680 unless you are playing at something like 800x600 resolution or below. Most games are GPU-bottlenecked at any reasonable resolution.

Edit: To clarify, there are a handful of games that are more CPU-bottlenecked such as Starcraft II, due to that game utilizing only 2 threads. So if you only play games like SC2 then maybe you are more CPU-bottlenecked. Feel free to flip through the picture gallery of games tested here to get a sense of whether you'd be CPU or GPU bottlenecked at 1920x1080: http://www.pcgameshardware.com/aid,...570K-HD-Graphics-4000-and-2500-reviewed/News/

 

[Jumpem]

Your CPU won't bottleneck a GTX680 unless you are playing at something like 800x600 resolution or below. Most games are GPU-bottlenecked at any reasonable resolution.

Resolution would be 1920x1200.

 

[lehtv]

In CPU limited games it will probably bottleneck a bit, but that isn't a problem because you get very good framerates anyway.

 

[blastingcap]

Resolution would be 1920x1200.

Yeah, I edited to add more information because I was curious about the extent of bottleneck. Flipping through the graphs shows that if you do CPU-bottleneck, it will usually be at high enough framerates anyway.

 

[LOL_Wut_Axel]

In some CPU-bound games it will bottleneck them a bit at stock. Is there any reason why you can't do a practical overclock to 3.4-3.8GHz? Doing that will remove the bottleneck in CPU-bound games almost entirely.

 

[Jumpem]

In some CPU-bound games it will bottleneck them a bit at stock. Is there any reason why you can't do a practical overclock to 3.4-3.8GHz? Doing that will remove the bottleneck in CPU-bound games almost entirely.

A couple of reasons. I haven't had the time or interest in tweaking and overclocking since finishing college and starting a family. Second, I read some articles about potential data corruption from overclocking.

 

[lehtv]

Second, I read some articles about potential data corruption from overclocking.

I'd like to check these out if you still remember where you read them

 

[Jumpem]

I'd like to check these out if you still remember where you read them

It was a two or three years ago. I don't remember where I read them.

 

[blastingcap]

TBH, I don't oc my CPUs much, if at all, either. IMHO, it's not worth the extra few frames per second at the cost of extra heat/noise/power draw/degradation.

That said, a little oc'ing with stock voltage is fine as long as your temperatures don't rise too much (a good CPU cooler and TIM will help with this, as will case airflow).

But significant overvolting will degrade a CPU. There are some crazies out there who overvolt like no tomorrow... not sure why since it uses so much extra power for not that much more performance, and shortens lifespan of CPUs: http://www.anandtech.com/show/2468/6

 

[LOL_Wut_Axel]

A couple of reasons. I haven't had the time or interest in tweaking and overclocking since finishing college and starting a family. Second, I read some articles about potential data corruption from overclocking.

Doing a simple overclock isn't time consuming.

And the articles you read are completely inaccurate.

 

[Termie]

You will have some bottlenecking. I will be doing BF3 benchmarking with my new GTX670 and will post my numbers if you're willing to wait a few days to see them.

The real impact will be on minimums, which is what you actually feel.

 

[Jumpem]

The game I was asking this question in regards to is Diablo III.

According to this Diablo III CPU scaling page at Tom's Hardware, a high end CPU does not matter much: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/diablo-iii-performance-benchmark,3195-6.html

Can someone look at the GPU comparison on this page (or see the chart below), and tell me what a 5870 is most comparable too?
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/diablo-iii-performance-benchmark,3195-5.html

 

[Termie]

It would be between 6850 and 7870. Probably don't need an OC for D3.

 

[blastingcap]

The game I was asking this question in regards to is Diablo III.

According to this Diablo III CPU scaling page at Tom's Hardware, a high end CPU does not matter much: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/diablo-iii-performance-benchmark,3195-6.html

Can someone look at the GPU comparison on this page (or see the chart below), and tell me what a 5870 is most comparable too?
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/diablo-iii-performance-benchmark,3195-5.html

A 5870 is in-between the 6770 and the 7870. A little closer to the 7870 than the 5770. And Diablo 3 is almost certainly not going to be CPU bottlenecked at 1920x1200.

A 7870 is ~33% faster than a 5870; a 5870 is ~67% faster than a 6770.

 

[lehtv]

Your 5870 should run Diablo 3 locked at 60fps. It's not a demanding game.

 

[Jumpem]

It would be between 6850 and 7870. Probably don't need an OC for D3.

A 5870 is in-between the 6770 and the 7870. A little closer to the 7870 than the 5770. And Diablo 3 is almost certainly not going to be CPU bottlenecked at 1920x1200.

A 7870 is ~33% faster than a 5870; a 5870 is ~67% faster than a 6770.

Your 5870 should run Diablo 3 locked at 60fps. It's not a demanding game.

Thanks.

 

[RussianSensation]

For most games i7 860 is going to be fine, but there are some exceptions. Shogun 2 for example.

In Diablo 3, i7 860 ~ i7 930 and those CPUs are capable of delivering 200 FPS.

Basically, you'll be GPU limited, not CPU limited in this game.

If you are upgrading solely to play D3, HD6870 or GTX560Ti is more than enough for 1200P. $400 GPU for D3 is massive overkill for 1920x1200.

Even if you encounter an area with a ton of enemies, HD6870 has headroom from 90 fps to drop to 60 fps and still provide good playability.

The value that HD6870 provides for D3 is astonishing. $160 for a card that's barely slower than a GTX480/HD7850! If you can find a used 5870, even better.

 

[Stuka87]

Not sure if it was mentioned, but you will be bottlenecked in BF3 on 64 player maps. My 7950 (OC'ed) rarely hits 100% GPU utilization when I am playing. Your chip is a bit faster per clock than mine, but not enough to make up for 1.3Ghz per core in speed difference.

But for most games, you would be fine. BF3 is more an exception than a rule. Even a 4.5GHz 2500K will run at near 90% CPU with a powerful enough GPU.

For diablo 3 you could probably get away with a single core Pentium and still run it decently. Its only dual threaded, and not a CPU hog at all.

 

[aaksheytalwar]

You will have some bottlenecking. I will be doing BF3 benchmarking with my new GTX670 and will post my numbers if you're willing to wait a few days to see them.

The real impact will be on minimums, which is what you actually feel.

This